I heard the story about how one monkey on an island figured out how to wash his food, and then other monkeys starting doing it too. That’s the true story of Imo the macaque monkey! In 1952 on the island of Koshima, a primatologist was leaving sweet potatoes on the shore for the monkeys to eat. One smart monkey, a one and a half year old named Imo, began washing the sand off her potatoes in a brook. You can imagine how much better this insight on her part made the potatoes taste! Next, Imo’s playmate was observed washing potatoes. Then her mother, then another peer. In four years, three more of her relatives and four members of another macaque group were washing their food. The primatologist realized he was watching the way new ideas spread in society!